Sara's Blog

Remember the book Flat Stanley from school? It’s about a little boy who gets flattened by a bulletin board. One advantage is that he can get mailed all over the world in an envelope. Elementary schools use Flat Stanley as a basis for geography classes, and one of my HOTP co-workers asked me to host her son’s Flat Stanley in Amsterdam.

So this week I’ve been entertaining FS (as I’ve come to call him) and showing him around Amsterdam. We’ve been to the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh museum, Centraal Station, the big ship outside the Nemo, plus we’ve gone cycling in the park, took the tram around town, ate pannenkoken (I do this for the children, you see), sampled cheese at the market and tried on some clogs. All the while I’m snapping away and people are looking at me like I’m crazy.

This week I needed to mail Flat Stanley back to his school in Oregon City, along with a souvenir. Not one to simply send FS all the way back to the States with a piece of chocolate and a pair of clogs, I made the fastest, easiest scrapbook ever—in one afternoon I popped in a few photos of FS touring Amsterdam, plus facts about the city. It’s held together with a silver ring and decorated with red, white and blue ribbons (the colors of the Netherlands). Cardstock pockets hold postcards and brochures from the museums, a city map and Stanley’s tram tickets. I think it was actually one of the most fun afternoons I’ve had in a long time—playing tourist, then coming home to make a simple scrapbook. Thanks, Flat Stanley and bon voyage!